Biological process outputs, also referred to as biological entities, such as cell lines, proteins, plasmids, antibodies, transgenics and so forth, are used for conducting scientific research. The research is conducted to identify the methods involved in biological processes such as transfection, transduction, cloning, hybridization, adaption, amplification, cloning, characterization, purification and so forth. The methods identified are used for further research and development activities such as purifying, characterizing, expressing, recombining, selecting, tailoring outputs for the development of drugs, therapies to combat disease manifestations and so forth.
The biological process outputs, more specifically the derived forms of biological process outputs, have diverse attributes. Further, the derived forms are typically developed via various multi-stage biological processes. Therefore, managing information associated with the biological process inputs, outputs and their derived forms is effort intensive.
The information related to biological processes is typically captured by researchers on index cards, hand note books, personal computers and so forth, which makes the information siloed and difficult to trace. Further there can be loss of valuable information when captured manually. Furthermore, the information related to the research work, associated biological processes, associated chemical processes and workflows etc. is not effectively captured. Also evidence of successful biological process inputs, outputs and their derived forms lying in freezers, are not easily traceable and hence lost. Therefore, the researchers confront information management issues, which in turn intensify tasks such as recording information, compiling information, associating information, filing an investigational New Drug or new biologic application and so forth.
Research starts by procuring bio-products and allied materials from outside vendors or partners. Owing to the scale, speed, and miniaturization of bio-systems and processes there is an enormous need to grow, spilt, derive the initial amounts and conduct individual processes in context to the hypothesis, so that the products brought from outside further expand into different varieties. Keeping track from the nascent product through the several generations of experiments is absolutely important for scientists. Additionally, these products are applied to a range of processes and often put to reuse and repurpose in context to the biological test performed on them. Hence, tracking of information related to the conducted research such as tracking information related to attributes of identified biological process inputs, outputs, properties of identified batches of biological outputs, lineage of biological process outputs and so forth is not efficiently performed when the information is captured manually. Deducing inferences based on the captured information therefore might lead to generation of erroneous information and loss of valuable information.
Biological process inputs, outputs can be procured, e.g. a cell line is procured to constitutively generate a protein, or a hybridoma is procured to develop an antibody. Biological processes involve physical transactions such as biological process output procurement, storage of one or more biological process outputs in freezers, depletion of biological process outputs, splits, merge, audit samples and so forth. Manually capturing information related to the inventory of biological process outputs and their derived forms used in the physical transactions is effort intensive and error prone.
Information captured for various biological processes is used for further research and development work. Collaboration of information captured in various biological processes which include trigger of events from one lab to another, notifying a specific group on sample availability, sharing performance of bio-process data with one or more groups, etc. These are not effectively performed and are typically absent when information is captured and shared manually.
Consequently, there is need for a system and a method for efficiently managing information related to biological processes. Also, the system should enable collaboration and cross referencing information of related biological process inputs, outputs and their derived forms. Further, the system should enable efficient searching, retrieving and tracking of biological process inputs, outputs and their derived forms. In addition, the system should enable efficient inventory management of biological process inputs, outputs and their derived forms. Further, the system should enable capturing of information from various information sources of molecular, cellular, structural, immunological, pharmacological and clinical information. Moreover, the system should enable generation of scanned reports of biological process output properties, location, quantity, and batch property description of biological property outputs.